Posts Tagged With: King Richard III

==========================================================================Descendants of King Richard III want his remains to be buried in York as “a matter of justice.”

The monarch’s bones were discovered underneath a car park in Leicester last year, following an archaeological dig.

More than 15,000 people have now signed an online petition supporting York’s claim to have him reburied there.

Charles Brunner, a descendent of Anne of York, Richard’s sister, said: “We repatriate those who give their lives in battle, so why is this different?”

‘Spiritual home’
Mr Brunner, who is also related to Richard’s brother Edward IV, added: “We don’t leave them a few miles from where they fell: they are brought home. Richard III deserves this, as does anyone. It is a matter of justice.”

Richard, the last monarch of the House of York, grew up at Middleham Castle in the Yorkshire Dales and visited York several times during his short reign.

Stephen Nicolay, the 16th great-grandson of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (father of Richard III) said: “York and the county of Yorkshire was, and remains, the physical and spiritual home of King Richard III.

“The burial of his exhumed remains should therefore be, without question, at York Minster which was, in life, his own wish.”

The campaign comes despite the fact York Minster has rejected calls for the remains to be buried there
‘Dignified reburial’

James Alexander, leader of the City of York Council, said support for the king “is as deeply and widely felt now as in his lifetime”:

“A number of his descendants have appealed to us to uphold their ancestor’s known living wishes to be buried in York where the king was establishing a chantry of 100 priests,” he said.

“By the time of his death in 1485, six altars were already in place in the Minster where prayers for his and his family’s souls were said.”

Mark Ormrod, Professor of Medieval History at University of York supported the relatives’ claim.

“In Richard’s own time, royal remains were often exhumed and moved significant distances for more dignified reburial,” he said

He added Richard’s own preferences and good historical precedent “should see England’s last Yorkist king” re-interred in York Minster.

Two English cities are doing battle over the bones of King Richard III.
This week scientists announced that a skeleton found under a parking lot in the city of Leicester belonged to the king, who died in 1485. Officials say he will now be reburied in Leicester Cathedral.
But York, 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north, is laying claim to the monarch, who belonged to the House of York and had strong ties to the city.
York City Council said Wednesday that it is writing to the government and Queen Elizabeth II, arguing that “one of the city’s most famous and cherished sons” should be buried there.
Leicester is refusing to yield, and the two cities have launched rival petitions to the government that have gathered thousands of signatures.

=============================================================================A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked.

The king’s skeleton was found under a car park in Leicester during an archaeological dig.

The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death.

Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was “almost like being face to face with a real person”.

The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king’s, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch’s family.

===============================================================Researchers said there is a ‘highly conclusive case’ that the battle-damaged remains found in a Leicester car park belonged to the 15th-century monarch. Scientists today revealed that a skeleton discovered under a car park in Leicester is that of King Richard III.

Researchers sensationally discovered a skull under the social services car park in September while hunting for the former king’s final resting place.

They had previously said there was ‘strong circumstantial evidence’ to suggest the bones are those of the 15th-century monarch, but experts were finally able to disclose the results of much-anticipated tests on the remains today.

The skeleton had a metal arrowhead lodged in its spine, along with other injuries matching those which Richard III sustained when he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The remains also had signs of ‘battle trauma’ and scoliosis – the spinal condition which gave the medieval monarch his infamous hunched back.

Richard III was the last English monarch to die in battle, after being defeated by an army led by Henry Tudor.

Historical records state that his body was taken 15 miles to Leicester, where it was displayed as proof of his death before then being buried in the Franciscan friary.

Experts today said that in making the ‘momentous’ find, they had ‘unlocked a 500-year-old mystery’.

They revealed their findings this morning in front of almost 150 journalists from around the world.

Initial examinations showed the bones to be those of an adult male and the remains were said to be in a good condition.

====================================================================================Richard III dig: MPs discuss cities’ claim to bones Wounds on the skeleton match what is known of Richard’s violent death at Bosworth.

A paliamentary debate has been held on where a skeleton that could be that of Richard III should be interred.

The bones were found in September by archaeologists digging beneath a car park in Leicester.

MPs from Leicester, Nottinghamshire and York discussed a permanent grave but officials said precedent meant Leicester cathedral was favourite.

DNA results on the bones are being compared to that of living descendants of the king, who was killed in 1485.

Richard died at the hands of forces of Henry Tudor near Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.

To argue on the floor of [parliament] over these mortal remains is more like medieval cathedrals fighting over saints’ relics”

His grave, in the church of Greyfriars in Leicester, was lost during centuries of redevelopment.

However, the archaeologists from Leicester university have found a skeleton, which is consistent with the known details of his appearance and death.
Campaigners from both York and Leicester have said the remains, should they prove to be the king, ought to come to them.

In the debate, Labour MP John Mann, from Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire offered Worksop as a halfway point between the two.

But Labour’s Jon Ashworth, who represents Leicester South, said: “Given it was the Greyfriars who took the body of Richard and buried him at what was then the Greyfriars’ church, a site which is today just a stone’s throw from Leicester Cathedral, and he has been in Leicester for 500 years, it would be most appropriate that he is finally laid to rest at Leicester Cathedral.”

‘Nearest cathedral’

York Central MP, Hugh Bayley, also from Labour said: “He is still very well-regarded in York. We have a museum to Richard III, we respect him enormously.

“But to argue on the floor of this place over his mortal remains is more like medieval cathedrals fighting over saints’ relics.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

Tory MP Tony Baldry, answering questions for the Church Commissioners, admitted: “There is quite a lot of competition for this.

“If there is conclusive evidence that these are the remains of Richard III, the tradition is that they would be buried and reinterred at the nearest Christian cathedral, which happens to be Leicester Cathedral.

“In those circumstances, I would hope to arrange a meeting with the Dean of Leicester to see how that could happen.”

It follows the possible discovery of the remains of King Richard III in a Leicester car park.

Historian Jane Walton said while Henry’s tomb was thought to have been at the high altar, it had probably been stolen and his remains lost.

Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, founded Reading Abbey in 1121.

After his death in Normandy in December 1135, his body was brought to Reading sewn into a bull’s hide. He was laid to rest in January 1136.

The abbey was partly destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII but there is no firm record of what happened to Henry I’s remains.

Henry was born in England in 1068 or 1069, the fourth son of William the Conqueror
The youngest and most able his sons, Henry strengthened the crown’s executive powers and modernised royal administration
By the time his elder brother William became king, one of Henry’s other older brothers had died, leaving Robert as the only other potential successor
William was killed in a hunting accident and Henry had himself crowned a few days later, taking advantage of Robert’s absence on crusade
A small plaque marks the rough area of his grave but rumours place the exact spot under nearby St. James’ School.

Conservative Mr Wilson said finding the remains of the king or the exact location of the burial place, could prove a catalyst to enticing tourists to the town’s Abbey Quarter.

Using the hashtag, #KingHenryofReading, he tweeted “If they can find Richard 3rd in Leicester, we can find Henry 1st in Reading! He’s buried in Reading Abbey somewhere, let’s find him.”

He admitted that if the grave is under a school it would “be a bit of a problem”.

“It would be good to remind people there is so much more to Reading than they think – we’ve got a very rich history and an economic importance that goes all the way back to Henry I’s time,” he said.

‘Hidden gem’

Plans to transform Reading’s historic Abbey Quarter were turned down for lottery funding earlier this year.

Reading Abbey was largely destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries
The borough council had put in a bid to secure £6.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to conserve and promote the area.

An application for £5m is to be made within the next month.

Matthew Williams, manager of Reading Museum, said the abbey is a “hidden gem” in the town.

“There are very few towns who had claim to have a king of England buried in them,” he said.

However, he said he “doubted” whether the remains of Henry I could be found.

“The remains are somewhere. You never know – he might turn up sometime in the future,” he added.

Ms Walton suggested the king’s silver coffin may have been stolen and his remains “scattered to the four winds”.

===========================================A human skeleton with a cleaved skull discovered beneath a parking lot in England may belong to King Richard III, researchers announced today (Sept. 12), though they have a long way to go in analyzing the bones to determine the identity.

The researchers note they are not saying they have found King Richard III’s remains, but that they are moving into the next phase of their search, from the field to the laboratory.

“[W]e are clearly very excited, but the University now must subject the findings to rigorous analysis. DNA analysis will take up to 12 weeks,” Richard Taylor, the director of corporate affairs at the University of Leicester, told reporters this morning, as recorded in a tweet.

The remains were hidden within the choir of a medieval church known as Greyfriars, where the English monarch was thought to be buried. Though the location of this church had been lost, historical records suggested Richard III was buried there upon his death in battle in 1485.

Two skeletons were discovered: a female skeleton that was broken apart at the joints was discovered in what is believed to be the Presbytery of the lost Church; the other skeleton, which appears to be an adult male, was found in the church choir and shows signs of trauma to the skull and back before death, which would be consistent with a battle injury, the researchers said. [See images of the Richard III discoveries]

“A bladed implement appears to have cleaved part of the rear of the skull,” according to a University of Leicester statement.

In addition, a barbed metal arrowhead was lodged between the vertebrae of the male skeleton’s upper back, Taylor said, adding that the spinal abnormalities suggest the individual had severe scoliosis, though was not a hunchback, as he was portrayed by Shakespeare in the play of the king’s name.

Even so, the scoliosis seen in the skeleton would’ve made the man’s right shoulder appear visibly higher than the left one. “This is consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard’s appearance,” according to the university statement.

University of Leicester archaeologists began excavating the parking lot of the Leicester City Council building on Aug. 25, in search of the church and the king’s remains. Since then, they have turned up the Franciscan friary, a 17th-century garden thought to hold a memorial to the king and various other artifacts.

On Aug. 31, the dig team applied to the Ministry of Justice for permission to begin exhuming the two skeletons, a process that began on Sept. 4.

“We are hopeful that we will recover DNA from the skeleton,” University of Leicester geneticist Turi King said at the briefing, as recorded in a tweet by the university.

The king’s tales

King Richard III ruled for England two years, from 1483 to 1485, before dying in the Battle of Bosworth Field, part of the War of the Roses, an English civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

A century later, William Shakespeare penned “Richard III,” a play about the tragic king — the last English king to die in battle.

The king seemed to have his own following. “Richard III is a charismatic figure who attracts tremendous interest, partly because he has been so much maligned in past centuries, and partly because he occupies a pivotal place in English history,” Philippa Langley, a representative of the Richard III society, said in a statement.

The grave of the king who died in battle in 1485 could be under a city council parking lot.

King Richard III of England had the honor of being memorialized in a William Shakespeare play after his death in battle in 1485. Now, modern-day archaeologists are on the hunt for the medieval king’s physical resting place.

The University of Leicester, Leicester City Council and the Richard III Society have joined forces to search for the grave of Richard III, thought to be under a parking lot for city council offices. The team will use ground-penetrating radar to search for the ideal spots to dig.
“This archaeological work offers a golden opportunity to learn more about medieval Leicester as well as about Richard III’s last resting place — and, if he is found, to re-inter his remains with proper solemnity in Leicester Cathedral,” Philippa Langley, a Richard III Society member, said in a statement.
Richard III was King of England from 1483 to 1485. He died during the Battle of Bosworth Field during the War of the Roses, an English civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Richard III was the last English king to die in battle. Shakespeare penned “Richard III,” a play about the tragic king, approximately 100 years later.

Regardless of his Shakespeare claim to fame, the king was talked about for his own right. “Richard III is a charismatic figure who attracts tremendous interest, partly because he has been so much maligned in past centuries, and partly because he occupies a pivotal place in English history,” Langley said.

“The continuing interest in Richard means that many fables have grown up around his grave.” Langley said, adding that some far-fetched tales include that the bones were thrown into the river Soar.
“Other fables, equally discredited, claimed that his coffin was used as a horse-trough,” Langley said.

After his death, the king was stripped and brought to Leicester, where he was buried in the church of the Franciscan Friary, known as the Greyfriars. The location of Greyfriars was eventually lost to history.

“The big question for us is determining the whereabouts of the church on the site and also where in the church the body was buried,” University of Leicester archaeologist Richard Buckley said in a statement. “Although in many ways finding the remains of the king is a long-shot, it is a challenge we shall undertake enthusiastically. There is certainly potential for the discovery of burials within the area, based on previous discoveries and the postulated position of the church.”

The search begins on Aug. 25. If remains that could be Richard III are found, they will be subject to DNA analysis at the University of Leicester.